The Trump team released basic details of Trump’s finances and income this week and it gave rise to another major scandal. Observers were disturbed to learn that Trump owes enormous debts to the same international corporations that are currently lobbying Congress and his administration.

This news is evidence of a major conflict of interest with the Trump administration – there is no way he can faithfully complete his duties as president if he owes hundreds of millions of dollars to the special interests.

Reuters reports:

President Donald Trump had personal liabilities of at least $315.6 million to German, U.S. and other lenders as of mid-2017, according to a federal financial disclosure form released late on Friday by the U.S. Office of Government Ethics.

He had roughly $20 million in income from his new marquee Washington hotel, which opened just down the street from the White House last September. Revenues also increased at Mar-a-Lago, the Florida resort known as the “Winter White House.”

The 98-page disclosure document posted on the ethics office’s website showed liabilities for Trump of at least $130 million to Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas [DBKGK.UL], a unit of German-based Deutsche Bank AG.
For example, Trump disclosed a liability to Deutsche exceeding $50 million for the Old Post Office, a historic Washington property where he has opened a hotel.

Trump reported liabilities of at least $110 million to Ladder Capital Corp , a commercial real estate lender with offices in New York, Los Angeles and Boca Raton, Florida.

Not only does Trump owe huge sums to these companies, they are also lobbying the federal government for huge deregulation deals.

Raw Story reports:

According to section 8 of the disclosure documents, Trump lists liabilities with 10 creditors. The minimum amount he owes is $315 million. Based on the maximum amounts listed, he could owe more than half a billion dollars to the creditors.

Among Trump’s largest creditors is Deutsche Bank, which has faced requests from Democrats to explain its lending to Trump. Deutsche Bank earlier this month rejected that request.
According to lobbying records, Deutsche Bank in 2017 has been pressing federal officials on “issues related to Dodd-Frank Act reform” and “issues related to the regulation of foreign banks.” Trump has pushed to repeal key portions of the Dodd-Frank legislation that was passed in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.

Trump has constantly been shady about his personal finances and the full details of his enormous corporate empire.

Read more, from Reuters:

The document showed Trump held officer positions in 565 corporations or other entities before becoming U.S. president. His tenure in most of those posts ended on Jan. 19, the day before his inauguration, and in others in 2015 and 2016.

Most of the entities involved were based in the United States, with a handful in Scotland, Ireland, Canada, Brazil, Bermuda and elsewhere.

Trump has refused to release his tax returns, which would give a much clearer indication of his wealth and business interests. But he has submitted federal forms disclosing his and his family’s income, assets and liabilities